BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Brownsville Community Foundation, which will soon morph into the Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic Foundation, is working to address the digital divide in region.
BCF’s executive director, Diane Milliken Garza, said the nonprofit is working with a broadband company called Public Wireless to deliver WiFi into the homes of thousands of less affluent Valley residents, with funding coming through the federal Affordable Connectivity Program.
“It’s the most life changing thing to me. If we (BCF) never did anything but that (I would be happy). Because I feel like connectivity is like a pen or paper or a book would have been generations ago,” Milliken Garza told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.
“If you don't have the ability to be connected to the World Wide Web, you don't have a future and we're inadvertently - not on purpose but inadvertently - creating a sub-population of people that will be laborers forever because they will not be connected to the planet.”
Milliken Garza said the program has already started, with Public Wireless already sending out WiFi devices to Brownsville ISD.
The Guardian met up with Milliken Garza when she appeared as a panelist at the 6th Annual International Conference on Border Studies. The event was hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley and held at the university’s Edinburg campus.
In her interview, Milliken Garza explained the digital connectivity project and the expansion plans of the foundation.
“The Brownsville Community Foundation has been in service to the Brownsville Community since, like, 1996. We're now extending out to the whole region. And it will be a regional organization. The new name is the Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic Foundation,” Milliken Garza said.
“So, right now, we're working on an initiative that has come down through the Affordable Connectivity Act. And we're facilitating it through a broadband company called Public Wireless. And it's providing internet to people that qualify based on income.
“It’s a free internet device. It's like a tablet, like an iPad. It runs on a SIM card like your phone or an iPad would run. The families get that plus they get four and a half years of free unlimited broadband.”
Milliken Garza said the project will cover the entire Valley. However, to kick things off the devices are being distributed via school districts in Cameron County.
“I started with the Brownsville ISD because that's 35,000 students. Almost all the students will qualify because it is based on income. So, families with students that receive a free lunch or another federal program will qualify. The whole district might qualify, depending on the numbers. We also have Harlingen (CISD) and we have Point Isabel (ISD) where we have already started.”
Asked how many federal dollars are coming to the Valley for the project, Milliken Garza said: “No, we are not getting any money. We just are facilitating it. They are going to give us some operating funds, as a 501 donation, I don't even know how much that will be.”
Garza said the families that will receive the digital devices must be U.S. citizens or legal residents because it is federal money. “Any school district, any veteran, any family. You qualify by income level. Anybody that is on a federal program most likely qualifies. You do have to be a U.S. citizen because it is U.S. money. You have to have a social security number.”
The Guardian asked Milliken Garza if she was aware that border counties came out most heavily for Proposition 8 in the recent statewide election. Proposition 8, which was passed by the voters of Texas, will allocate $1.5 billion in state funds to support broadband and emergency telecommunications infrastructure projects in the state.
“Wow. I did not see that,” Milliken Garza said. “I am not surprised the voters along the border supported Proposition 8 because that affects us directly, because we have so much poverty.”
The Guardian learned how the border region voted on Proposition 8 thanks to Guillermo Aguilar of Brownstone Consultants. Brownstone Consultants are helping the City of Pharr with its blazing fast broadband service, TeamPharr.Net.
Here are the counties that voted most heavily for Proposition 8:
87% - Zavala
86% - Zapata
86% - Presidio
85% - Jim Hogg
81% - Webb
80% - Kenedy
80% - Brooks
80% - Travis
77% - Hidalgo
77% - Cameron
77% - Willacy
72% - Maverick
“These voting outcomes, together with the feasibility studies that have been completed throughout South Texas and the border as a whole provide a sound foundation for the State of Texas and NTIA to fund further broadband infrastructure in the region,” Aguilar said, in a posting on LinkedIn.
NTIA stands for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
State Sen. Juan Hinojosa of McAllen penned a guest column in support of Proposition 8 in advance of the election. He wrote:
“On the November 2023 ballot, I urge all Texans to vote in favor of Proposition 8 to allocate $1.5 billion to the Broadband Infrastructure Fund. By doing so, we authorize the use of the necessary resources to expand broadband access, support emergency telecommunications, and replace outdated infrastructure. This investment will not only improve connectivity but also empower our communities, enhance education, create economic opportunities, and save lives.
“Let us come together and make a strong statement that every Texan deserves equal access to the internet. Vote for Proposition 8 and support the Broadband Infrastructure Fund. Together, we can build a more equitable and connected Texas for generations to come.”
Texas-based economist M. Ray Perryman also penned a guest column on the subject. He wrote:
“Texas faces substantial challenges in ensuring broadband access due to the state’s vast land area, including large expanses with few residents. Currently, about 2.8 million households affecting 7 million Texans have inadequate internet capabilities. Most of them are in smaller population centers and rural areas, where the economics of providing necessary infrastructure are not generally as attractive for private companies in comparison with more densely populated urban centers.”
